7 of America’s Most Corrupt Politicians

1. 7 of America’s Most Corrupt Politicians

2. Rod Blagojevich Jimmy Walker James Traficant Richard Nixon Bill Jefferson Duke Cunningham William Belknap

3. Shari`ah Law: What Is It?

4. Arabic Definitions The Arabic noun shari`ah (ﺸﺮﻴﻌﺔ) comes from the common verb shar`ah (ﺴﺮﻊ) which means “to lead”; thus shari`ahrefers to “the path upon which one is led” Shari`ah law is based on the Qur’an (ﭬﺮﺍﻦ, lit., “that which is recited”), the hadiths (ﺣﺩﻳﺕ, lit., “the narrative”), the sunna (ﺳﻧﺔ, lit., “the trodden path”), the ijmā (ﺍﺠﻤﺎﻉ, lit., the “consensus”), and qiyas (ﻗﻴﺲ, lit., “the process of reasoning via analogy”)

5. Arabic Definitions The Arabic noun fiqh (ﭰﭬﺔ) comes from the common verb faqiha (ﭰﭬﺔ) which means “to understand, comprehend”; thus fiqh refers to “jurisprudence” Fiqh deals predominantly with observance of rituals and social legislation. There are four Sunni schools of fiqh and one school for the Shi’a. A person trained in fiqh is called a faqiah (ﭰﭬﻳﺔ, ”lawyer”)

6. Hebrew Law The Hebrew noun torah (hrwt) comes from the common verb yarah (hry) which means “to coach”; thus torah is “the (coach’s) guide” Talmud (dwmlt) is based on study of the Tanak (Knt, an acronym for hrwt [torah],My)ybn[nevi’im, “prophets”], and Mrbwtk[ketuvim, “writings”]), as interpreted by the Mishnah (hn#m, lit., “re-telling”) through a process called #rdm(midrash, lit., “seeking”)

7. Leviticus 21:6-11

8. Imagine Jewish reactions to the Greeks as different kinds of pizza … Pharisees Sadducees Essenes Zealots

9. 1QSerek

10. If one is found among them who has lied knowingly concerning goods, he shall be excluded from the pure food of the Many for a year …. • Whoever rebukes his fellow with stubbornness and speaks brusquely, ruining the footing he has with him, defying the authority of the fellow enrolled ahead of him, takes the law into his own hands; he will be punished for a year …. • Whoever enunciates the Name honored above all, whether by blaspheming, or because he is over-whelmed by misfortune …, (even if by) reading a book …, will be excluded, and shall not go back to the council of the yahad.

11. If anyone speaks angrily against one of the priests enrolled in the book, he will be punished for a year and shall be excluded, under sentence of death, from the pure food of the Many. • However, if he speaks unintentionally, he will be punished for six months. • Whoever lies knowingly shall be punished for six months. Whoever knowingly and for no reason insults his fellow will be punished for a year …. • Whoever speaks to his fellow with deception or knowingly deceives him, will be punished for six months.

12. Whoever walks about naked in front of his fellow (without needing to) shall be punished for three months. • Whoever spits in the course of a meeting of the Many shall be punished thirty days …. • Whoever giggles inappropriately, causing his voice to be heard, shall be sentenced to thirty days. • Whoever takes out his left hand to gesture with it shall be punished ten days. • Whoever goes round defaming his fellow shall be excluded for one year from the pure food ….

13. “The concept of shari`a has been thoroughly confused in the legal and common literature. For some Muslims, shari`a consists of the Qur’an and Sunna. For others, it also includes classical fiqh— jurisprudence derived from consensus (ijma) and analogy (qiyas).” L. Ali KhanWashburn University School of LawTopeka, KS

14. “This definition of shari`a inappropriately lumps together the revealed with the unrevealed, thus creating a muddled assumption that scholarly interpretations are as sacred as the Qur'an and the Sunnah.”“The Second Era of Islamic Creativity,” University of St. Thomas Law Journal 1 (2003) 341. L. Ali KhanWashburn University School of LawTopeka, KS